You might have it and not know it
May 5th is World Pulmonary Hypertension Day
But November is Pulmonary Hypertension Month
This is a horrible, debilitating and deadly disease
and much too little is known about it
But November is Pulmonary Hypertension Month
This is a horrible, debilitating and deadly disease
and much too little is known about it
Not well known
Pulmonary Hypertension is a fatal disease that many people have and don't know it. It is not well understood by most family physicians, and they will often diagnose asthma instead. Even some hospitals will refuse to treat a PH'er.
My wife has been on a Facebook group with other PH'ers, and we have lost several of them in the past two years. One of them went to her local hospital in a city of 50,000, and they refused to treat her. They sent her on a 5 hour road trip to the nearest hospital that would treat PH'ers. A few days later she died.
Symptoms
The major symptoms are:
Fatigue
Dizziness or fainting spells (syncope)
Chest pressure or pain
Swelling (edema) in your ankles, legs and eventually in your abdomen (ascites)
Bluish color to your lips and skin (cyanosis)
Racing pulse or heart palpitations
What is it
Briefly, it is an increase in blood pressure between your heart and lungs. Left untreated, it can destroy your heart in as little as two years. With treatment, you can survive for another ten to twenty years but life will not be easy. There are no age restrictions that apply to PH; anyone is susceptible.
To find out more about this horrible disease please visit the Mayo Clinic.
For support or to make a donation to badly needed research, please visit the PHAssociation
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